Positive Mental Attitude; have you checked yours lately? Published June 5, 2013 By Col. Richard L. Kemble 94th Airlift Wing vice commander DOBBINS AIR RESERVE BASE, Ga. -- Last year when I wrote an article about change and our reactions to it, I had no idea of the path our country was about to take, in regards to sequestration and continuing resolution. In that article, I wrote about our ability to deal with change and how you define yourself by your reaction to change. In this article, I want to continue the theme and briefly discuss our attitudes and how they impact our results. Winston Churchill once said, "A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty." Zig Ziglar, a noted motivational speaker once said, "Your attitude, not your aptitude, will determine your altitude." It's amazing how easy negativity is and how rapidly it grows. It truly is cancerous. No one has ever had to take a class on how to be inefficient or negative. However, billions have been spent and made on books, tapes and seminars dealing with how to teach people to be more positive, productive, and efficient. Why is that? Why is negativity inherent in all humans? Why do we have to "learn" to be positive? I believe some people are conditioned to think and act in a negative way. I call these people "dream stealers." Have you ever wanted to do something challenging, difficult, or away from the norm? What did your support system say or do? Did they encourage you to go for it? Or did they give you every reason under the sun why you couldn't? More importantly, what did they even know about it anyway? Had they tried and failed, or was this just their opinion? As humans, it seems we are so very quick to discourage the "dreams" of others. Don't be a dream stealer. Support those who challenge the norm. Support those who want to take a risk or try something different. And more importantly, don't let someone steal your dream. Did you know...Thomas Edison tried more than 9,000 experiments before he created the first successful light bulb? In high school, Michael Jordan was cut from his basketball team due to lack of skill! Albert Einstein's parents thought he was mentally retarded! His grades were so poor that a teacher once told him to quit school and that he would never amount to anything. What if any of them would've quit in the face of difficulty or failure? I believe we are only one failure away from greatness. I believe that a better day, a better job, or whatever, is just around the corner or just a day away. If I give in to negativity, I've lost. Churchill also said, "Some people dream of success while others wake up and work hard at it." A few years ago, a dear friend of mine was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) or Lou Gehrig's disease. I am so very fortunate to have him as my friend. Every chance I get to spend with him it reminds me that my problems are really not that significant and time spent being negative is wasted time. So don't waste time on non-value added activities, be positive and surround yourself with positive people. Remember, "Success and happiness are not matters of chance, but choice."
